A “copyright troll” should not be confused with a “patent troll”. A Patent Troll is somebody who tries to make a lot of money off a patent that they are not practicing and have no intention of practicing and … [have] never practiced. Overstock.com, Inc. v. Furnace Brook, L.L.C., 420 F. Supp. 2d 1217, 1218 (D. […]
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Copyright and Trademark Differences in the United States
Too often, a journalist for a well-known publication will publish an article that confuses copyright protection with trademark protection or copyright infringement with trademark infringement. Unfortunately, this misnomer and incorrect application of law frequently confuses the general public and inaccurately communicates an otherwise newsworthy story. Copyright laws generally protect the work of an author in […]
The Importance of an Adequate Copyright Notice to Defeat Them
In a previous blog entry, we discussed the importance for photographers (and other artists) to digitally watermark their photographs. By digitally watermarking their work, photographers could seek additional damages in some situations in a copyright infringement lawsuit for the removal or alteration of such watermark under section 1203 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). However, this […]
Be Wary of a Copyright Assignment or an Exclusive Copyright License
It’s an important day when an artist signs his first artist agreement, an author executes her first publishing contract, or a band strikes their first record deal. However, it’s even more critical that the creative parties signing these agreements understand what rights they may be giving away. Too often, creative parties realize after it’s too […]
Copyright Registration and Copyright Claimant
Under Section 201 of the Copyright Act, copyright in work initially vests in the work’s author or authors. The author, however, is not always the party who claims ownership of the copyright when federal registration of the work is sought. Section 409 of the Copyright Act requires a copyright claimant to provide the claimant’s name and address […]
Attention Photographers: Digitally Watermark Your Photographs
If you have ever been to an art gallery or museum, you have likely noticed that most of the art pieces, whether a photograph, sculpture, painting or drawing, bore the signature or other mark of their creator. From Sophilos Me Grafsen’s imprint of his name into a Greek pot in the sixth century B.C. to […]